Releases

Biography

Vintage amps pushed to the max. Screaming guitar melodies layered over distorted bass chords. An incessant, pummeling drum attack. Sludge breakdowns, over the top blast-beats. An infusion of classic thrash, metal and punk topped off with a dual vocal assault. The result: a sound that offers no rest, no retreat. It is the furious release of a caged beast.

Based in Chicago, IL arbogast played their first show on a frigid evening in February 2009 at the Metal Shaker with Aseethe and Shores of the Tundra. arbogast has maintained momentum playing numerous shows and sharing the stage with bands including East of the Wall, Bison BC, Gates of Slumber, Czar, Look What I Did, Across Tundras, Name, Tidal Arms and Admiral Browning.

On November 13th, 2009 arbogast self-released their first EP, recorded, mixed and mastered at Gunpoint Studio over the summer of 2009.

Next came a limited-edition split 7″ with A Fucking Elephant (Pennington, NJ), released in October 2010. The songs were recorded at Stereophonic Studios where engineers Stu and Marshall compared the recording to being attacked by a bear. The mixing and mastering was once again at Gunpoint Studio. The artwork for the record was supplied by Aaron Block of Shifting Totem, whose art has also been commissioned by legendary bands Suicidal Tendencies and DRI.

On their latest release, a self-titled 3-song EP released in May 2011, arbogast took more of a DIY approach. The songs were recorded at their practice space in the Pilsen neighborhood with the help of Stab Hain of Glass Dicks. Matt Dewine of Pieholden Suite Sounds put the finishing touches on the EP by mastering the songs. Aaron Block once again contributed the artwork for the album.

Media

News

“Most likely, this band derives its namesake from the Roman general Flavius Arbogastes, aka Arbogast (said to have been birthed in barbarian lands), since their debut full-length I sounds like an entire garrison thrust into the heat of battle, complete with clanking shields, hacked-off limbs and bloodthirsty bellowing.” – Blabbermouth.net

Chicago’s rampant trio arbogast is preparing for an upcoming East Coast run of tour dates in support of their diverse debut full-length, I, recently released by Nefarious Industries. A hometown show on April 1st begins the trek, followed by shows in Columbus, Philly, NYC, Long Branch, Asbury Park and Pittsburgh over the first week of the month.

A new live video for the “blasfamous” from I, filmed at Chicago’s Ultra Lounge by Waffles & Pancakes and edited by arbogast drummer Mike Rataj is viewable below.

arbogast’s off-kilter but seamless hybrid of extreme musical styles infiltrated the media at the turn of the year by way of a crushing debut album, simply entitled I. The trio’s slamming hooks and percussion are also fueled by sturdy societal and political disdain. Their unique sound is a hybrid of thrash, hardcore, sludge and even old-school punk merged into an aggressively progressive haze that never veers too far into the pretentious. I tackles a theme on the minds of many: the declining morals of a country where the middle class is being overthrown by the greed of the privileged. Recorded by Andy Nelson (Weekend Nachos) at Bricktop Studios in Pilsen and mastered by Matt DeWine at Ukrainian Village’s Pieholden Suite Sound, founded by the late Jay Bennett (Wilco), I was released in December via New Jersey-based Nefarious Industries.

“…imagine At The Drive In meets Mastodon. But not yet as amazing as whit that might sound like when their potential is realized.” – Terrorizer

“Seriously, how is this band not already signed, touring with (and blowing away) the likes of High on Fire and The Sword? The world is a cruel and unjust place…” – Decibel

“…successfully fuses the well-deep riffing of doom metal with the head-banging aggression of thrash and hardcore punk, a blend it manages successfully across the record’s 11 tracks.” – The Onion’s A.V. Club

“…complex, engagingly brainy metal, driven by righteous political fury—the band reserves a special place in Hades for the rich and exploitative—and leavened with quiet, clean breaks whose breathing room really just sets up the next charge of jackhammer force.” – Chicago Reader

“A thrashy take on stoner/sludge metal, hard to define, great chemistry between the trio, not content to stick to the same approach on every song. 4/5″ – Metal Underground

“…complex, engagingly brainy metal, driven by righteous political fury—the band reserves a special place in Hades for the rich and exploitative—and leavened with quiet, clean breaks whose breathing room really just sets up the next charge of jackhammer force.” – Chicago Reader

Chicago-based arbogast’s off-kilter but seamless hybrid of extreme musical styles infiltrated the media at the turn of the year by way of a crushing debut album, simply entitled I. The trio’s slamming hooks and percussion are also fueled by sturdy societal and political standpoints.

Following regional shows in support of the album over recent weeks, and while currently working on new videos to be released in the coming weeks, arbogast is actively setting up shows in their hometown and abroad. Having just confirmed a new set of dates on the East Coast this Spring, the outfit will take their chaotic, genresmashing tunes to new audiences throughout the Northeastern corner of the country in early April. In the meantime new Chicago shows are also confirmed; the band will share the stage with Behold… The Arctopus and Murmur in mid-March, and will also storm The Burlington with Guzzlemug and Arctic Sleep tonight, Thursday, February 28th.

Stay tuned for details on additional arbogast live actions to be confirmed and disbursed in the near future. In the meantime let the forty-three minutes of I infiltrate your auditory receptors RIGHT HERE.

arbogast’s influences encompass everything that is heavy, blending metal, thrash, hardcore, sludge and even old-school punk into an aggressively progressive haze that never veers too far into the pretentious. Their debut album I tackles a theme on the minds of many: the declining morals of a country where the middle class is being overthrown by the greed of the privileged. Recorded by Andy Nelson (Weekend Nachos) at Bricktop Studios in Pilsen and mastered by Matt DeWine at Ukrainian Village’s Pieholden Suite Sound, founded by the late Jay Bennett (Wilco), I was released in December via New Jersey-based Nefarious Industries.

“…successfully fuses the well-deep riffing of doom metal with the head-banging aggression of thrash and hardcore punk, a blend it manages successfully across the record’s 11 tracks.” – The Onion’s A.V. Club

“Seriously, how is this band not already signed, touring with (and blowing away) the likes of High on Fire and The Sword? The world is a cruel and unjust place…” – Decibel

“…complex, engagingly brainy metal, driven by righteous political fury—the band reserves a special place in Hades for the rich and exploitative—and leavened with quiet, clean breaks whose breathing room really just sets up the next charge of jackhammer force.” – Chicago Reader

“With an overall prog-metal sound, fans of post-metal bands like Neurosis and Russian Circles, and more aggressive metal groups like Black Tusk and Baroness, will find common ground with arbogast’s I.” – Delusions of Adequacy

“A thrashy take on stoner/sludge metal, hard to define, great chemistry between the trio, not content to stick to the same approach on every song. 4/5″ – Metal Underground

“…sounds like early Refused with a shot of sludge…” – MetalSucks

“Tremolo guitars grapple with hard-hit drums as the battle rages on between the classes. Each song sets a scene so effectively you’d think the concept album was meant for a film.” – Mxdwn

“…a stunning and outstanding album that should hopefully propel them amongst the elite of Sludge Metal as they have some major fucking talent that deserves to be heard on a bigger stage as possible.” – The Sludgelord

“…a sound that is very different and their diatribes against the privileged few that continue to subjugate the masses is all the more vicious for it.” – The Midlands Rocks

Metal Underground chats with arbogast about their sound, their new record, and the upcoming video for “Forming the Flock”:

Chicago’s arbogast is not the kind of band that engages in the conventional nature of metal. Their sound is hard to pinpoint, sounding like a thrashy take on punk one song, and then a sludgy mess on another. Pulling their cues from many different influences helps them retain a sound that can be defined as their own. Arbogast makes the most out of it on their debut album I, which was released back in last December. It was largely overlooked, stuck in the space between end-of-year lists and building anticipation for 2013’s releases. I had the opportunity to speak to all three members of Argogast – bassist/vocalist Aaron Roemig, guitarist/vocalist Mike Scheid, and drummer Mike Rataj – about the creation of I and finding a balance between all the different styles the music pools from.

“Arbogast have released a stunning and outstanding album that should hopefully propel them amongst the elite of Sludge Metal as they have some major fucking talent that deserves to be heard on a bigger stage as possible.”

Read on at Sludgelord where Aaron & Mike^2 discuss quantum mechanics, Sabbath, and their new record.

“Arbogast introduces themselves with a record that harkens back to an age when metal, punk, and post-hardcore all lived comfortably together. Their debut album, I , is an excellent effort, and deserves much more recognition than it will get for now.” – SSGmusic

“…successfully fuses the well-deep riffing of doom metal with the head-banging aggression of thrash and hardcore punk, a blend it manages successfully across the record’s 11 tracks.” – The Onion’s A.V. Club

2013 is shaping up to be an amazing year for Nefarious Industries. Two and a half years into this moronic experiment, we’re getting the opportunity to work with a wide array of artists that are all creating incredible and diverse music. We’re proud to be able to continue to bring you guys such a variety of music that you might not have been exposed to otherwise.

Before I delve too deeply into our future plans, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all of the great bands that we’ve worked with in 2012. So Is The Tongue, Mount Gomery, Tovarish and arbogast all made great records, and we’re proud to have worked along side of them. If you haven’t checked their records out yet, please do so. Also, don’t forget to avail yourself to our free digital sampler here.

Now, onto the new stuff. We’re going to kick off our year with our first ever international release! Seven Nines and Tens from Vancouver will be releasing a digital single through our label on January 1st titled Constants and Axioms/Kemptville. Seven Nines and Tens plays a particularly muscular and brainy brand of post rock that I think you will all enjoy thoroughly. You can get a taste of the single on our digital sampler. We’re happy to be spreading our auditory virus north of the border!

January 22nd will mark the return of one of our flagship artists, A Fucking Elephant. We’ll be releasing their amazing new 7″, Seven Inches of A Fucking Elephant. Most of you who follow our collective exploits are familiar with this band’s mindfuckery, and I can assure you that this release is a wonderful extension of that. The EP 7″ will be available in limited quantities of yellow and black vinyl, accompanied by stunning artwork from the warped mind of Eric Nyffeler (doe-eyed.com). Pre-Order now to be entered into the raffle for a chance to win a test pressing of this slick 45. The band will be hitting the road hard in January. Check out their tour dates here.

We’ll be spending most of the spring on 2 awesome vinyl releases. The first will be Farmer’s Almanac by East of the Wall. This one holds a special place in my heart because it’s the first record I ever played on, and I have been waiting to have this on vinyl for quite a few years. We don’t have an exact release date for this one yet, but it will be out in time for the band’s spring tour.

Next up will be Goes To Purgatory by Jar’d Loose. If you’re not already familiar, this awesome Chicago band plays a grimy, Am-Rep sort of nastiness that will get your head banging. We’re happy to be releasing Goes To Purgatory on vinyl. Make sure to check them out on tour next month. Dates can be found here.

My band, El Drugstore, will FINALLY release our debut full-length, Plague Ship, this spring. Needless to say, I’m very proud of the songs on this record and I can’t wait for you all to hear them. More release details are forthcoming. In the meantime, check out a demo of the track “Fascinating Underpants” here.

All of the nuttiness that I outlined above is just the beginning of our year. We’ll be releasing a new record from Pigeon (facebook.com/pigeonny) at some point early in 2013. We’ll be making some forays into improvised acoustic world music, as well as free jazz. One of my goals for this label from day one has been to expose whatever followers we have to a ton of music of all styles that they likely wouldn’t have heard otherwise. 2013 is a big step towards achieving that goal.

A big thank you is in order to everyone who has bought a record from one of our bands, or even just came to a show or helped spread the word. Onwards and upwards.

“Arbogast have released a stunning and outstanding album that should hopefully propel them amongst the elite of Sludge Metal as they have some major fucking talent that deserves to be heard on a bigger stage as possible.” – Sludgelord

I, the new full-length from arbogast, is now available on CD and immediate high quality digital download.

“I presents a melting pot full of different influences, from the sludgy, doom-paced segments that the band tends to go into, to the energetic, fast-paced thrashy segments that are on tracks like Unnamed Guns that even brings in a slight Bay Area thrash sound to the mix.” – Heavy Metal Tribune

“This Chicago clan mixes elements of Post Hardcore, Sludge Doom and Thrash into a sound that is close to something if Neurosis and Crowbar collabed together working on songs that would have been planned out for a future Surgery or Jesus Lizard album.” – Absolute Zero Media

CD + MP3 Download

Buy

MP3 Download

Buy $4.99 or more

“The wall of angry guitars, hammered drums, and shouted vocals that explode before us makes this band increasingly hard to categorise. Good. Bands that make music by the numbers are nothing less than boring. arbogast are all versatile musicians and they work well together to create a tight and focussed unit. What’s evident is that they listen to each other and respond to what they’re playing and so the songs evolution is inherent in the final version and much more potent. The sludge and doom passages blend seamlessly with the fast-paced thrash and all-out hardcore/punk feel to the tracks, while the melodic aspect of the band shines through and drags the listener into the maelstrom. Throwing together such disparate sounds poses a serious risk for a lot of bands, to which many fall foul, and this could have easily been a mess. But arbogast make it all work. And very well. This is a solid début and well worth checking out.” – The Midlands Rocks

It’s not everyday a small music publication uncovers information of great national significance through interviews with local musicians (although we will continue to insist otherwise), but in a recent conversation with Chicago rock trio arbogast, bassist/vocalist Aaron Roemig revealed, “We were directly responsible for destroying the American economy.” That may be assuming a little too much of the blame for an international catastrophe, but the fact that arbogast was formed entirely of employees at a major financial institution does pose the question of what the current economic climate might look like had all bankers and Wall Street insiders of the last decade also been independent musicians raised on diets of punk, metal, and jazz.

“As the album progresses, the difficulty in really putting arbogast into a particular genre becomes evident as I presents a melting pot full of different influences, from the sludgy, doom-paced segments that the band tends to go into, to the energetic, fast-paced thrashy segments that are on tracks like Unnamed Guns that even brings in a slight Bay Area thrash sound to the mix. The band also does not leave out the melodic side of their songwriting, with each of the tracks’ melodies evoking different emotions in the listener, from completely desolation on Blastamous to a perceived shimmer of hope on Unnamed Guns.” – Heavy Metal Tribune

“This Chicago clan mixes elements of Post Hardcore, Sludge Doom and Thrash into a sound that is close to something if Neurosis and Crowbar collabed together working on songs that would have been planned out for a future Surgery or Jesus Lizard album.” – Absolute Zero Media

Chicago three-piece arbogast are gearing up to welcome their beast of a debut LP on November 20 via Nefarious Industries. The self-titled album packs a heavy punch with pummeling drums, gang vocals, searing guitar tones, and much more. Grab its lead single, “Forming the Flock,” at the top of this post and stream it here with another, called “Blasfamous.” Preorder the album via Nefarious Industries’ webstore.

In celebration of their debut LP, arbogast will be playing Quenchers on November 29 with support from Rollo Tomasi and Cokegoat. Tickets will be available at the door.

Chicago’s metallic progmangling trio arbogast will release their debut album, the simply titled but intricately envisioned and executed I, on December 4th. I will be set loose by arbogast’s cohorts at New Jersey-based Nefarious Industries, founded by and home to El Drugstore (members of East of the Wall), A Fucking Elephant, and So is the Tongue (members of Kayo Dot).

arbogast’s boisterous debut tackles a theme on the minds of many: the declining morals of a country where the middle class is being overthrown by the greed of the privileged. The eleven songs harnessed on I were recorded by Andy Nelson (Weekend Nachos) at Bricktop Studios in Pilsen and mastered by Matt DeWine (Where the Moon Came From) at Ukrainian Village’s Pieholden Suite Sound, founded by the late Jay Bennett (Wilco).

Since their first appearance in February 2009, arbogast has shared the stage with scores of acclaimed ensembles including Bison BC, Gates of Slumber, Across Tundras, Goes Cube, and Tidal Arms. As evidenced in previous releases — a self-titled EP from 2009, a split 7” with New Jersey’s A Fucking Elephant from 2010, and a demo from 2011 — arbogast’s influences encompass everything that is heavy, blending metal, thrash, hardcore, sludge and even old-school punk into an aggressively progressive haze that never veers too far into the pretentious.

Matching arbogast’s trademark heavy sound with a heavy theme, dead birds litter a desolate landscape on the cover of I, designed by Aaron Block (Shifting Totem), whose work has also been commissioned by legendary bands Suicidal Tendencies and DRI. Vocalist/guitarist Mike Scheid lays the foundation with the first notes of the album — an eerie Hammond organ that crescendos seamlessly toward the first track, ‘final throes.’ Vocalist/bassist Aaron Roemig further establishes the tone with the first verse: “War’s been waged, a barrage of greed, ensures divisions strengthening.” Similarly disillusioned lyrics are the mainstay of this recording. The undercurrent of arbogast’s sound, drummer Mike Rataj’s patented blend of ambidextrous chops, jazzy finesse and thunderous hardcore fury drive the album start to finish.

With live shows constantly being booked through their native Chicago and beyond, the band will take to the road early in 2013 and throughout the rest of next year in support of I. Stay tuned for constantly-developing details as more live attacks are plotted and announced.

Nefarious Industries is happy to welcome Chicago’s sludge/thrash/doom trio arbogast to our dysfunctional family, and we’re marking the occasion by making their much anticipated full-length album, simply titled I, available for pre-order. More details to come in the days ahead.